Paul Newman: A Life

In Paul Newman: A Life, film critic and pop culture historian Shawn Levy gives readers the ultimate behind-the-scenes examination of the actor's life, from his merry pranks on the set to his lasting romance with Joanne Woodward to the devastating impact of his son's death from a drug overdose. This definitive biography is a fascinating portrait of an extraordinarily gifted man who gave back as much as he got out of life and just happened to be one of the most celebrated movie stars of the 20th century.

Robert Downey, Jr.: The Biography

Find out about his film debut at age five playing a puppy in one of his father's cult underground films, his attempt at becoming a comedian during his ill-fated stint on comedy show Saturday Night Live, how he burst onto the scene with his moving performance in Less than Zero and how he charmed Hollywood with his Oscar nominated turn as troubled funny man Charlie Chaplin.

But Enough About Me: A Memoir

Burt Reynolds has been a Hollywood leading man for six decades, known for his legendary performances, sex-symbol status, and storied Hollywood romances. In his long career of stardom, during which he was number one at the box office for five years in a row, Reynolds has seen it all. But Enough About Me will tell his story through the people he's encountered on his amazing journey.

A Life in Parts

Bryan Cranston landed his first role at seven, when his father, a struggling actor and director, cast him in a United Way commercial. Soon Bryan was haunting the local movie theater, memorizing and reenacting favorite scenes with his older brother. Acting was clearly the boy's destiny - until one day his father disappeared. Suddenly destiny took a backseat to survival. Seeking something more stable, perhaps subconsciously trying to distance himself from his absent father, Cranston decided on a career in law enforcement.

A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor

Born in England to socially ambitious parents, Elizabeth Taylor was catapulted into child stardom and molded by MGM into the great violet-eyed beauty of postwar America. Along the way, without training or counsel, she became an award-winning actress, dazzling audiences everywhere with spectacular performances.

Over the Top and Back - the Autobiography

Tom Jones was born Thomas Jones Woodward in South Wales to a traditional coal-mining family. He began singing at an early age and landed his first record contract in 1964, winning a Grammy in 1965 for "It's Not Unusual". Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2006 for his services to music, his recordings have spanned the spectrum of musical styles over 60 years. He lives with his wife of 58 years, Melinda, in Wales and California. They have one son.

The Last of the President's Men

Bob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book, The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation.

Guilty as Sin: Uncovering New Evidence of Corruption and How Hillary Clinton and the Democrats Derailed the FBI Investigation

In his astonishing new book, Edward Klein uncovers the real story behind Hillary's email scandals and the dirty political games that have kept her one step ahead of the law - for now. Klein reveals what the FBI's team of 150+ investigators really found on Clinton's server. How Comey originally threatened to resign over White House attempts to intervene in the investigation, and his secret plan to go around the Justice Department if needed.

Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep

A portrait of a woman, an era, and a profession: the first thoroughly researched biography of Meryl Streep - the "Iron Lady" of acting, nominated for 19 Oscars and winner of three - that explores her beginnings as a young woman of the 1970s grappling with love, feminism, and her astonishing talent.

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood

From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.

The Tom Hanks Enigma: The Biography of the World's Most Intriguing Movie Star

Tom Hanks is unquestionably one of the finest actors of his generation. With an array of stunning performances to his name, he has an outstanding reputation as one of the world's greatest leading men. With roles as diverse as Josh in Big and Woody in Toy Story to Chuck Noland in Castaway and Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, this award-winning star is ensured enduring popularity and box-office success.

John Wayne: The Life and Legend

John Wayne projected dignity, integrity, and strength in all his films, even when his characters were flawed, and whatever character he played was always prepared to confront injustice in his own way. More than thirty years after his death, he remains the standard by which male stars are judged and an actor whose morally unambiguous films continue to attract sizeable audiences.

Amazon Customer says:"A Great Read, great story about one of America's"

Jimmy Stewart: The Truth Behind the Legend

In this definitive biography of one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, Michael Munn reveals the truth behind the diffident, earnest and kindly persona of Jimmy Stewart. Drawn from the author's formal interviews and informal meetings with the star and his friendship with Stewart's wife, Gloria, is this portrait of a man who came from the Presbyterian traditions of Pennsylvania to become one of the silver screen's enduring legends.

The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.

Boys in the Trees: A Memoir

Simon's memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster; her musical debut as half of The Simon Sisters, performing folk songs with her sister, Lucy, in Greenwich Village; to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top 40 hits, including the number-one song "You're So Vain".

From the founders of the international health-care behemoth Johnson & Johnson in the late 1800s to the contemporary Johnsons of today, such as billionaire New York Jets owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV, all is revealed in this scrupulously researched, unauthorized biography by New York Times best-selling author Jerry Oppenheimer.

Wildflower

Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross-country road trip, saying good-bye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led her to the successful, happy, and healthy place she is today.

Cary Grant: A Biography

Bringing up Baby. The Philadelphia Story. North by Northwest. An Affair to Remember. When Cary Grant passed away at age 82, fans from every generation mourned. Nearly 20 years later his star shines just as brightly from television and revival-house screens; his name remains synonymous with effortless charm.

Publisher's Summary

The long-anticipated biography of Robert Redford.

Among the most widely admired Hollywood stars of his generation, Redford has appeared onstage and on-screen, in front of and behind the camera, earning Academy, Golden Globe, and a multitude of other awards and nominations for acting, directing, and producing, and for his contributions to the arts. His Sundance Film Festival transformed the world of filmmaking; his films defined a generation. America has come to know him as the Sundance Kid, Bob Woodward, Johnny Hooker, Jay Gatsby, and Roy Hobbs. But only now, with this revelatory biography, do we see the surprising and complex man beneath the Hollywood facade.

From Redford's personal papers, journals, script notes, correspondence, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews, Michael Feeney Callan brings the legendary star into focus. Here is his scattered family background and restless childhood, his rocky start in acting, the death of his son, his star-making relationship with director Sydney Pollack, the creation of Sundance, his political activism, his artistic successes and failures, his friendships and romances. This is a candid, surprising portrait of a man whose iconic roles on-screen (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Natural) and directorial brilliance (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) have both defined and obscured one of the most celebrated, and, until now, least understood, public figures of our time.

Not sure I know much more about Redford than when I began reading this bio. Lots of politics, environmental concerns, casting angst on movies but very little about Redford as a person outside of his activism, politics, passion and lateness. Very little on family life (beyond wife's politics, naturally) friends and co-workers (beyond their politics) and the experience of making some very successful movies.

I wasn't looking for fluff but expected more warmth and humanity...not chapter after chapter of "environment, canyons, development, politics, history, etc."

The narration is first rate...sounds a little like Redford but this is not an audiobook I would recommend.

What I liked most were his reasons for doing particular films. I have watched a few of his films back, and some I hadn't seen before. It gave an extra dimension to the films. I also was intriged to hear of how he seemed to struggle between staying true to his authentic self and the pressures of Hollywood and the changes in the world.

Which character – as performed by Mark Deakins – was your favorite?

Robert himself

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it was too long. But every night in bed I would listen to about 45 minutes.